


five times linda realised mike and nick were really close, and the one time she realised how close they really were

by jadrian



Category: The Deer Hunter (1978)
Genre: 5+1 Things, Baking, Dancing, I Am Sorry, M/M, Pining, WARNING: SAD, and then they are adults, basically just nick and mike being gay and linda being oblivious, dumb straight people, they are kids for some of it, war & death :(
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-18
Updated: 2020-06-18
Packaged: 2021-03-04 00:09:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,018
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24794422
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jadrian/pseuds/jadrian
Summary: Mike and Nick's relationship through Linda's eyes.
Relationships: Nikanor "Nick" Chevotarevich/Michael "Mike" Vronsky
Comments: 7
Kudos: 16





	five times linda realised mike and nick were really close, and the one time she realised how close they really were

**Author's Note:**

> prompt from nicky, thank u so much!!
> 
> proof read by liz again bc she is an absolute fucking legend. love u sm lizzzz
> 
> im not going to lie to u, i cannot remember much abt linda's life from the film, so i basically made the whole thing up :)

**1**

Linda had made it halfway through the cupcake recipe when she realised she had forgotten to buy sugar. Now, this was something that presented a series of problems: not only would she have to leave the house to get sugar, she would also have to get some sort of money from somewhere. And considering the fact that she was making these cupcakes as a surprise for her dad, she didn’t really think that asking him was the best idea. Her pocket money was a no-go, either - at twelve, any money she received was instantly spent on candy and magazines and hair accessories. 

She stared despondently at the messy kitchen counter, at the mixing bowl filled with everything but that much-needed sugar, but then it dawned on her. She could ask the Chev… the Chever… Chevota… the next-door neighbours! 

They seemed nice enough. Linda and her dad had only moved in recently, but the youngest member of the family, Nick, had already caught her eye. He was tall and skinny and blonde and older than her and kinda looked like he went around hitting people’s fences with a baseball bat, but when they moved in, he brought her and her dad a plate of cookies as a housewarming gift and told them to come ‘round any time.

So, you know. Linda had a bit of a crush on him. It was no big deal. No one needed to know. 

She glanced at the clock. 7:30. A bit late in the evening to be making house calls. Most kids in the neighbourhood were probably settling down for dinner right now. But he did say to come around any time, right? 

So that was how Linda ended up outside his doorstep that evening, holding a cup and ringing the bell eagerly. After the second ring, the door swung open. 

“Oh, hey! Linda, isn’t it?” Nick was standing in the doorway, grinning easily. Behind him, Linda could see a boy she vaguely recognised from school.

“Um, yeah. Hi, Nick,” she replied, mentally praying that she wasn’t blushing right now. Making a fool of herself in front of two older boys was not really high on her bucket list. 

Nick turned to the boy behind him. “Mikey, this is Linda. She lives next door. Linda, this is Mike. He’s staying the night.”

Mike offered a small nod as a greeting. 

Linda was confused.  _ Staying the night? Is that something that boys do a lot?  _ she thought. But he said it so casually that it couldn’t be a big deal. She shrugged it off. 

“Sorry to bother you so late, but I’m making cupcakes for my dad, and I only just realised that I don’t have any sugar. Could I borrow some from you?”

Nick’s smile widened. “Yeah, sure. Come in!”

Linda followed the two boys inside. The house wasn’t anything unusual, just your average American house, really, but Linda felt like she was stepping into somewhere special. The walls were covered with pictures of Nick and his family, of holidays and sporting achievements and days out, making Linda feel like she was intruding on Nick’s life somehow. 

In the kitchen, Nick immediately went to the fridge. “Do you want a drink of something? We got some juice, maybe?”

Gosh, he was so polite. Linda felt the blush rising on her cheeks and she mentally kicked herself. “No, it’s fine, thanks. I should probably get back.”

“Yeah, sure. No problem,” replied Nick. 

From behind her, Mike said, “Hey. Here’s your sugar.”

Linda swung around and saw the already filled cup. Huh. This Mike guy must know his way around Nick’s house pretty well, if he knows where the sugar is kept. 

“Oh. Thank you,” Linda tried to smile casually at Mike, but she could tell that she was turning as red as a tomato. 

As she walked the short distance back to her house, practically skipping, she knew that she was grinning like crazy. Wasn’t she lucky to live next door to Nick, who clearly spent so much time with Mike? Hopefully, she would be able to get to know the both of them… 

  
  


**2**

“You going to Homecoming, Nick?” Linda asked from her place on Nick’s floor. He had invited her over to help her study, and Linda had leaped at the opportunity to spend some time alone with the boy. It seemed like he couldn’t go anywhere without taking Mike with him. 

(Not that that was too big of a problem, really. She liked Mike almost as much as she liked Nick.)

“Homecoming? Not really my kind of thing, is it?” replied Nick distractedly. He had a chemistry final in two days and he was desperately flicking through the textbook in hope that he would be able to absorb the content into his brain.

Linda turned to him in confusion. “What’re you talking about? You love dancing!” It was true - she couldn’t count the number of times she’s walked in on him doing the twist alone in his kitchen.

“I guess. But I’m going hunting with Mike that night. His dad’s letting us stay in his cabin and everything.”

“Let me get this straight,” Linda said. “You’re missing out on  _ homecoming _ just to go walk around in the woods for hours on end? With a boy you see every single day of your life?”

Nick chuckled. “I mean, yeah? I’d much rather spend my time hunting with Mike than hanging out with a bunch of people I don’t even like.”

“Well, maybe if you went to more social events, you wouldn’t dislike them so much,” argued Linda. Nick almost never showed up to any parties or dances, choosing instead to spend his days glued to Mike’s side.  _ They’re like a married couple _ , Linda thinks to herself, and giggles at the thought. What a silly comparison!

“Why would I want to meet other people? I’ve got Mike, haven’t I?” And then, almost as an afterthought, he adds, “And you, of course.”

Despite the fact that he clearly almost forgot about her, Linda can’t help but feel a bit warm at her inclusion in Nick’s limited list of friends. Maybe all hope wasn’t lost.

“Well,  _ I’ll _ be going to Homecoming,” said Linda. Hint hint.

But Nick doesn’t take the bait. She isn’t sure if he’s ignoring her hints on purpose or if he truly doesn’t see her that way. “Oh, okay then. Have fun.”

“Yeah…” Linda sighs. If only Nick could take his head out of Mike’s ass for a second, he would realise what was right in front of him.

Ah well. She could just ask Stan to go with her. He was always nice to her.

  
  


**3**

When Linda came back from college, everything felt exactly the same. There were all the old shops, the old graffiti, the old trees. As the taxi drove through the streets, she began to recognise some of the locals, people she had known for over a decade. The town was one of the only constants in her life, never evolving despite the rapid cultural changes taking place across the country, and it felt good to return to something so warmly familiar. 

Arriving at her house, she saw that even her dad was sitting in the exact place he was when she left him four years ago. Logically, she knew that he must have moved at some point, but some part of her believed that he just sat in that chair for years on end, working steadily through the supply of beer at his feet. 

He barely even acknowledged Linda when she entered, and for that, she was relieved. It’s better than the alternative. She didn’t stay any longer than it took her to put her suitcases in her room. 

_ Who will I visit first? _ she wondered, and then laughed to herself. Is that even a question? Nicky and Mike, of course. Despite hours of phone calls and whole forests of letters, she had still missed them like crazy. She knew Nick’s address, from his letters, and decided to make her way over to him first, assuming that Nick would know where to find Mike.

_ The two were always so close, _ she thought to herself.  _ I hope they haven’t drifted apart _ .

But fortunately, when she knocked on the door to the caravan that Nick was apparently living in, it was Mike who opened the door.

“Linda?”

“Mike!”

She dove into his outstretched arms and felt four years worth of lost hugs wrap around her. She vaguely felt another pair of arms join the hug, but she was so caught up that she didn’t even notice it was Nick until they all pulled back. Ecstatic at seeing her friends after so long, Linda threw her arms around Nick again.

“God, I’ve missed you boys!” Linda said, grinning so widely her face hurt.

Nick looked affronted. “Boys? How dare you. We’re  _ men _ now, Linda, we’ve got jobs and everything, thank you very much.”

Linda rolled her eyes. “Yeah, sure. And I suppose all of the mature men are living in caravans now?”

“It’s perfectly respectable!” Nick argued, but you could tell he wasn’t really mad. 

Linda turned to Mike. “What about you, Mikey? Where are you living? I’m sure you’ve got something a bit more stable than this.”

“Well, that’s the thing…” Mike said. “I kinda… live here too?”

_ Wait. Seriously?  _ Then Linda giggled slightly. It’s not like there was any reason for her to be surprised. For as long as she had known them, Mike and Nick had done everything together. But still… living together? What if one of them got a girlfriend or something? Wouldn’t that be a bit awkward?

She brushed the thought away. It was none of her business, right? “Well, good for you guys, I guess. Sure you won’t get tired of each other’s company sometime soon?”

“Naw, there’s no risk of that, is there, Nicky?” smiled Mike, playfully hitting his friend on the shoulder. “Hey, Linda, you wanna go say hi to Stan and the rest of them?”

  
  


**4**

_ everybody loves somebody, sometimes… everybody falls in love somehow... _

Linda looked up from her drink and smiled as the song floated its way around the room from the jukebox in the corner. She couldn’t tell who put it on - their little local bar was crowded with so many people - but she knew that, somewhere, a happy couple was enjoying their night together, drunk and in love. 

_ something in your kiss just told me… my sometime is now… _

On her left, Stan was telling her some story about the time he almost drowned while fishing, but Linda wasn’t really paying too much attention. Stan was nice, he was sweet, and usually she would pay attention to what he had to say, but that night, she was watching Mike order drinks at the other end of the bar. She couldn’t help but get lost in him slightly, in his messy hair and his soft brown eyes. Linda wasn’t stupid, Mike had made it very clear to everyone that he was not really the dating sort, but that didn’t stop her from having the occasional daydream. 

_ everybody finds somebody someplace… there's no telling where love may appear... _

She watched as Mike bought two different drinks and made his way over to the pool table, where most of the group were hanging out. Wordlessly, he handed one glass to Nick, who took it with the ease of someone who had made this exchange a thousand times.

_ something in my heart keeps saying… my someplace is here... _

Mike’s free hand squeezed Nicky’s briefly and the two shared a look before Nick turned back to the game. Linda couldn’t, for the life of her, decipher that look. It seemed to be filled with so many things that she couldn’t quite understand.

_ everybody loves somebody sometime…  _

For some reason, she suddenly felt an immense sense of shame. Like she intruded on something that wasn’t meant for anyone else to see but the two men. She turned away. 

_ your love made it well worth waiting for…  _

_ for someone like you…  _

  
  


**5**

Steven and Angela’s wedding reception was painfully bittersweet. It was clear how everyone was trying hard to be cheerful and optimistic, but the banners all around the hall were a constant reminder of the war that hung heavy over their heads. No one wanted to talk about it, but they all knew that it could be the last time they ever saw the three men.

Linda, to her credit, was doing her best to take everyone’s minds off it. She was constantly requesting upbeat songs, going ‘round to greet people, dancing with everyone she could.  _ Aren’t you the little life and soul of the party _ , Steven’s aunt had said, ruffling Linda’s hair. 

Nobody needed to know that she was about three words away from bursting into tears at any moment.

The worst was when she danced with Nick. She thought it might cheer her up, spending time with one of her favourite people in the world, but the instant his hands grabbed hers she felt a lump in her throat the size of a small continent.

She couldn’t cry. She couldn’t. If she cried, then Nick would start crying, and then Mike, wherever he was, would probably sense it and then  _ he _ would start crying, and then everyone else would start crying at the sight of big strong Michael Vronsky with tears running down his face. So, no. She had to hold it in, somehow. 

The song was coming to an end but Linda didn’t want to pull away from Nicky. She wanted to stay with him for as long as she could, making the most of every moment. Then she felt a tap on her shoulder. Speak of the devil, there was Mike, his trademark grin on his face. 

“May I have this dance?” he asked, bowing slightly and offering his hand. 

Linda giggled. “Yeah, sure, Mikey.”

Mike straightened up. “Actually,  _ Linda, _ I was talking to Nick, not you,” Mike looked over to his friend. “Nicky?”

“Why of course, my good sir,” replied Nick, stretching out his hand in the most dramatic way possible. Mike took it and spun Nick around, before taking both his hands and attempting to do… What dance even was that? The twist? The Charleston? The shimmy? Next to them, Linda began laughing. Mike was so unbelievably shit at dancing.

Thankfully, the upbeat song quickly finished, and Mike stopped doing whatever the hell he was doing. Still holding Mike’s hands, Nick was practically crying with laughter.

From the stage, Linda could hear the announcer saying “And now, something a bit more romantic, for all you happy couples out there.” 

As the music started playing, Mike and Nick slowly drew themselves closer together. The dance floor was so packed that no one noticed them but Linda. She watched them throughout the entire song. Every so often, one of them would say something to the other, but Linda couldn’t hear anything over the sounds of the music.

Watching the two of them, the lump in her throat slowly grew and grew until she could barely breathe. If they didn’t come back… she couldn’t even think about it. Living the rest of her life without Mike and Nicky just seemed unbearable.

At least, she knew, they would have each other. The same as always. Mike and Nick, against the world. She shouldn’t worry. Neither of them would ever let anything bad happen to the other.

  
  


**\+ 1**

The funeral is in half an hour. 

Linda hasn’t heard Mike speak for three days. He hasn’t been to work. He hasn’t showered. He’s barely eaten since he returned from Vietnam with Nick in a bodybag. Nicky, who he had promised to bring back. Who he had tried so hard to save.

She’s hit with a strong feeling of familiarity, but she can’t remember Mike ever acting like this. He’s always been the rock of their little family, showing emotions, sure, but never letting them get the better of him.

The funeral is in half an hour. She should go and get him.

Linda has been sleeping on the sofa in the caravan, not wanting to leave Mike on his own, scared of what he might do. Mike has been sleeping in Nick’s room, desperately trying to hold on to someone who’s already slipped away. 

She opens the door to Nick’s room, and her heart breaks for what feels like the thousandth time.

Mike is sitting on the bed, not moving. He’s wearing his uniform - that’s something, at least - and he’s just staring at the wall in front of him. In his hand, he’s holding one of Nick’s shirts, his knuckles white. He looks like he’s been carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders for so many years that it’s finally crushed him.

She realises where that sense of familiarity has come from. Her father. When her mom died, her dad switched himself off for weeks. She had been sad, yes, but she hadn’t been able to understand that aching sense of pure loss her father had been feeling. She can barely understand it now, but she feels the edges of it brushing against her. It’s deep and it’s cold and it’s painful beyond all belief, but she has to stay strong for Mike. He needs her. 

Slowly, carefully, Linda moves into the room and sits next to Mike. His shoulders are set and rigid, but she can tell by his face that he’s fighting back tears. She takes his hand.

Neither of them speak. They don’t need to. All the words that can never be said are passed between their hands. Mike brings Nick’s shirt up to his face as the tears begin to fall.

And Linda understands.

It all makes sense to her now.

As she sits there, clutching Mike’s hand, a million glances and touches and casual words are made clear to her, and she realises that the two men loved each other more than she could ever know.

The funeral is in half an hour.

**Author's Note:**

> thank u sm for reading, pls leave kudos and a comment if u want!
> 
> follow me on twt asf @/yeehawkeanu


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